CQC inspection of End of Life Care at Wycombe Hospital

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The Care Quality Commission (CQC) recently released its report on End of Life Care at Wycombe Hospital. There has been improvement since the last inspection in two of the five areas identified.

Overall, the CQC rated Wycombe’s End of Life Care as Requires Improvement which is the same rating it gave it in March 2014. Thankfully, the hospital is rated Good for caring, which I see reflected in the report.

The reasons given for an overall Requires Improvement for end of life care are lengthy. They are introduced as follows:

Overall we rated this service as ‘requires improvement’. This was similar to the previous rating in March 2014. However the service had improved its rating in two of the five domains we inspected in providing an effective and caring service.

During this inspection we found improvements. Nursing and medical care had improved and patients received better symptom control and anticipatory drugs for pain relief. Patients nutrition and hydration needs were being assessed. Patients and relatives gave examples of compassionate nursing care. They felt involved and informed regarding their care and treatment.

The specialist palliative care team was well led and staff were passionate about improving the quality of services Staff across the hospital (obese) provided good emotional support for patients. The chaplaincy provided one to one spiritual support and worked closely with the bereavement officers to ensure relatives received a sensitive and individual service following the loss of a loved one.

Many of us in our mid-40s will by now have had some experience of losing a loved one and may be impatient to see improvement in this service. I do not doubt that staff are working hard towards that end. I look forward to their success.

The full report can be found here. Constituents are welcome to contact me here.